Lost Heart
by ShadowKitsune77
Summary: Set 1 year after Planatary Crisis, the Kitsune World is attacked by the Heartless and the planet is surrouded in darkness. When Pandora disappears Max gets help from an unlikely source as he tries to find not only Pandora but the key to revive his world.
1. Attack on Kitsunopolis

**Lost Heart**

**This story takes place three years after Kingdom Hearts 2 and two months after Planetary Crisis.**

**Chapter 1: Attack on Kitsunopolis**

It had been a whole year since Illusion was defeated and now life was returning to normal not only on Cloud's world but on Terra Firma and the Kitsune World as well. Max was lay in bed with his arms wrapped around Pandora's waist as she lay next to him asleep with her back to him. Max and Pandora were both sleeping soundly when a female Kitsune with light blue fur and wearing a maid outfit entered the room, she walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open causing the morning sunlight to pour into the room and shine in Max's face.

"Uuuuuuhhh..." Max moaned irritably as he woke with a start and quickly sat up as he saw the servant stood there smiling.

"Morning your highness," the maid greeted cheerfully as she continued to smile at Max. "I trust you and the good lady slept well."

"How many times have I told you to just call me Max?" Max questioned as he gave the maid a sleepy stare.

"I'm sorry your highness but Elder Celeste requested an audience with you in the throne room," the maid told Max as she bowed. "Something about your lessons."

Max sighed when he heard this, "why do I have to learn to be a ruler?" He asked as he shook his head. "I mean it doesn't sound so hard to me."

"Your mother had to take queen lessons," the maid informed Max. "Now come on, up you get."

Max sighed again and grumbled under his breath as he got out of bed, "Can I have a little privacy?" Max asked the maid.

"Of course your highness," the maid replied as she walked over to the door and bowed again before walking out of the door and closed it behind her. Max shook his head before he got dressed.

A few minutes later Max entered the throne room and he saw Celeste stood in the room, she smiled when she saw him. "Glad you could join us," Celeste greeted Max as he walked over to her.

"I still don't see what the point is," Max told Celeste. "I mean I know what it means to be a ruler."

"There's more to being a ruler than sitting on a throne and helping people with their problems," Celeste informed Max. "There's court proceedings, fancy banquets, balls..."Celeste started to list everything off and Max's eyes started to slowly close and quickly open again as Celeste's voice droned on in his ear. "And of course there's protecting the people of the Kingdom."

"See...I know how to fight," Max boasted as he smirked at Celeste.

"We know you can fight," Celeste stated as smiled at Max again. "But you're not exactly..."

"Not exactly what?" Max questioned before he burped loudly causing Celeste to scowl at him.

"That's what I'm talking about," Celeste stated slightly irritated at Max's rude behaviour. "A true ruler is culturally refined, and has impeccable manners."

"I don't do all that fancy stuff," Max responded stubbornly. "I remember the last ball I went to...all those snobs were looking down their noses at me for the whole night..."

"Well you did stuff a lot of shrimp into your mouth in one go," Celeste explained as she sighed. "Not to mention you spiked the punch and caused mostly everyone to get drunk."

"That was Drogo that spiked the punch," Max corrected Celeste and he smirked as he remembered that moment, "and I remember the words 'couch tonight' coming out of Sunny's mouth."

"Well we need to work more on your table manners," Celeste told Max. "But first we need to do something about your wardrobe."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Max questioned as he looked down at his black sleeveless shirt and black jeans, his black gloves and his black boots in confusion.

"You need to set a good example for the people," Celeste answered. "I hardly think that that look would be appropriate for formal addresses."

"It shows that I'm down to earth and I don't put myself above everyone else." Max reasoned with Celeste but she was having none of it.

"Come with me," Celeste stated as she grabbed Max's arm and dragged him. She dragged Max into another room where two female Kitsunes were waiting for him. "Max, these two are your personal dressers," Celeste introduced the two women. "They're going to help you try out some formal clothes."

"Hell no!" Max yelled and he tried to run for the door but Celeste blocked his path.

The two women walked over to Max and started to examine him, "lady Pandora is lucky to have such a fine catch." One of them remarked as she lifted up Max's arm and started to measure it.

"But we can turn him from a down to earth boy into a fine gentleman," the other one added as she measured between Max's legs.

"Hey!" Max yelled as he glared at the women.

"Let's get some outfits for you to try on, so remove your clothes." The woman who first spoke stated causing Max to blush.

"Do it, or we'll remove your clothes for you," Celeste threatened. Max sighed and he removed his clothes before a posh looking suit was thrown at him. Max tried it on and a few moments later he was stood in the middle of the room wearing the suit.

"Very cute," the woman remarked as they smiled at Max.

"I feel like a bloody penguin," Max remarked as he looked down. "Plus it's too tight..."

"Let's try the next one," one of the women stated.

Max sighed as he was forced to try on outfit after outfit, after outfit. After two hours Pandora entered the room and saw him in another suit and she laughed. "Not you an' all..." Max moaned as he saw Pandora.

"I think it's adorable," Pandora commented as she walked over to Max and kissed him.

"You're supposed to be on my side..." Max muttered as he scowled at Pandora. "Can I take this stupid suit off now?"

"Yes," Celeste answered as Max cheered and tore the suit off himself and got changed back into his normal clothing. "But meet back in an hour for..." Celeste started to say but he was interrupted by a soldier running into the room.

"Your highness, my lady, grand elder..." The soldier uttered as he breathed deeply. "I'm sorry to interrupt but..."

"What is it?" Max questioned his voice was filled with concern.

"Strange dark creatures have breached the gates and are attacking the city..." the soldier told everyone in panic. "We tried to hold them off but they're much too strong...we need your help."

"Don't worry, we'll do what we can." Max promised the soldier, "round up the guards, tell them to evacuate the streets."

"Yes sir," the soldier stated as he bowed before running out of the room.

"Come on," Max stated as he and Pandora ran out of the room. They ran out of the entrance and into the palace courtyard where they saw that Nightshade was already there with some guards fighting against some strange black creatures. "Dad!" Max yelled as he and Pandora ran over to the dark furred Kitsune, one of the dark creatures disappeared into the ground and crawled over to Max. Max however quickly summoned his sword and slashed out as the creature leapt out of the ground, it screeched in pain as it fell to the floor before dissolving into a black puddle.

Nightshade turned round and smirked when he saw them, "I was wondering when you two would show up," he stated before casting a Holy spell on several of the creatures causing them all to dissolve into puddles.

"We just heard," Pandora told Nightshade as she and Max looked around to see the dark creatures running amok and attacking anyone and anything they saw. "What are these things?" She questioned as she kicked one that got too close to her.

"I'm not sure," Nightshade answered as he gave the two a worried look. "They just came out of nowhere...you don't suppose that it's Illusion's work..."

"We defeated her remember?" Max questioned as he looked at his father. "Besides, Illusion wouldn't dare attack Kitsunopolis...this is something else entirely..."

"They're gathering in town," Pandora stated before she, Max and Nightshade ran out of the palace courtyard and into town where they saw even more of the strange creatures. They saw a civilian running down town screaming as the creatures leapt on her and completely covered her. When the creatures got off the Kitsune she was nowhere to be seen but in her place was another one of the creatures. "Did they just turn her into one of them?" Pandora questioned as her face went pale.

"These things are all over the place!" Max yelled as the three found themselves surrounded by them, the creatures looked at them eagerly before leaping at them. Max and Nightshade swung their swords round in a circle killing all the creatures that had them surrounded. "We'll never defeat them all..."

"Guys...look over there...the city it's starting to...disappear..." Pandora uttered as she pointed ahead of her.

Max and Nightshade looked in the direction that Pandora was pointing in and they were shocked to see that everything was starting to disappear. Max sighed, "We gotta get everyone off this planet..." Max uttered, a hint of desperation in his voice. _"Celeste..."_ Max communicated with the elder telepathically. _"I need you to evacuate the city...get as many people as you can on to the escape ships..."_

"_I'll get right on it..."_ Came the reply and soon guards were leading the citizens to the spaceports to get them all on the ships.

"Is it me, or are these things looking for something?" Pandora questioned as she looked at the creatures.

"I don't know," Nightshade answered. "But I have a feeling that we're fighting a losing battle here..."

The three continued to fight off the creatures but for everyone they killed another one took its place and it wasn't long before the three were overwhelmed. "They have us surrounded..." Max uttered as he looked at the creatures. "This isn't like anything we've faced before..." The group remained in fighting stances as the creatures continued to charge at them but suddenly they disappeared as quickly as they came.

"They're...gone..." Pandora uttered as she stared at the now empty street. "We did it..."

"Not quite..." Max stated as he started to walk forwards. "If our past experiences are anything to go by then when all the monsters disappear suddenly it means that something bigger is on the way..." As Max said this darkness started to fill the sky and a large black creature with round yellow eyes, small black wings and a large heart shaped hole in its stomach flew over the three and over to the palace.

"It's gone to the palace..." Pandora uttered as she looked at it.

Max sighed sadly to himself before looking at Nightshade and Pandora, "dad...take this..." Max started to say as he gave Nightshade a card. "You know where all the portals are...get to Terra Firma..."

"Ok," Nightshade replied as he nodded.

"Pandora, go with him." Max told Pandora.

"And what are you going to do?" Pandora demanded as she stared at Max.

"I'm gonna fight it," Max stated as he started to walk towards the palace, but Pandora quickly reached out and grabbed hold of Max's hand.

"I'm going with you," Pandora stated stubbornly as she forced Max to face her.

"It's too dangerous," Max warned Pandora. "I can't risk your life as well as mine."

"I'm used to danger," Pandora told Max. "Or have you forgotten all our adventures together?"

"This isn't like anything we've ever faced..." Max protested, "and our world is disappearing even as we speak...this is the only chance you and dad have got to escape."

"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not!" Pandora yelled as she gave Max a don't even think about disagreeing with me look.

Max sighed, "alright...I can't say no to you after you gave me that look..."Max gave in before he smiled at Pandora. "Dad...get to Terra Firma and tell everyone else what happened..." Max commanded.

"I will, you two be careful," Nightshade warned as he gave both Max and Pandora a worried look.

"We will," Max promised Nightshade, "now go." Nightshade nodded before running off and Max and Pandora ran to the palace, they were shocked to discover that the palace was now in ruins and was floating over complete darkness. Max and Pandora prepared themselves as they heard a thud and the giant monster landed in front of them.

The monster roared loudly before it rose its giant arms up and started to slam them down with the intention of crushing Max and Pandora into the ground, but they quickly dodged out of the way as the hands slammed into the ground where they were a few moments before causing the ground to shake. Max and Pandora charged at the monster and struck it with their weapons, Pandora then charged up a flare spell and fired it at the monster. The monster then grabbed them in its hands and threw them back before it slammed its hands into the ground causing dark puddles to form under Max and Pandora's feet, they rolled out of the way as pillars of darkness rose out of the ground following Max and Pandora where they went.

Max flipped before focusing some energy into his sword, the sword glowed with a light green energy. Max crouched down and remained in that position for a moment before he leapt up high into the air and held his sword above his head. "KITSUNE DIVE!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he fell back down to earth and thrust his sword into the ground causing waves of psychic energy to emit from the sword and strike the monster multiple times causing extensive damage to it. (**A/N this move is very similar to Braver in a sense that Max leaps into the air, however he focuses his psychic energy into the sword which makes the move more powerful than Braver.**)

The monster roared in pain before it shot a dark beam out of its mouth, Max leapt out of the way and slashed at the monster's arm causing more damage. The monster roared again before several of the creatures Max and Pandora fought before spawned out of the ground and started to attack them. Max and Pandora easily killed the smaller creatures and struck at the monster again. Pandora leapt into the air and focused a flare spell in her foot as she spun round rapidly and fell towards the monster and kicked it repeatedly as it was hit with both physical and magical damage. The monster screamed in pain before it grabbed Pandora in its hand and threw her towards the edge of the platform, Pandora reached out and grabbed the edge just in time. "PANDORA!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he ran to where Pandora was to help her, but unfortunately the monster got to her first. The monster grabbed Pandora again and threw her off the edge, she banged her head on the side of the platform which knocked her unconscious. A portal opened up in the darkness and Pandora fell into it before it closed completely.

Max stared at the darkness in shock before he looked up at the monster his shock soon turned to anger. "!" Max screamed as he ran at the monster dragging his sword behind him causing sparks to form as he ran. Max leapt up and struck the monster in the side completely shocking it. Max then rolled out of the way of the monster's arm before he leapt up and struck the other side stunning the monster. Max then ran at the monster again imbuing his sword with Holy energy, he then yelled again as he stabbed the monster between the eyes the Holy power seeping into it. The monster screeched in pain as Max removed his sword and the monster glowed with a white light before it exploded.

Max breathed deeply and he looked around him to see that the platform he was stood on was getting smaller and smaller. Max slowly backed up towards the edge and he almost lost his balance as he looked down and saw the darkness below, he then saw a portal open up in the darkness. _"Ok...I can either disappear with this world or I can take my chances with the portal..."_ Max thought to himself as he saw the platform get even smaller.

"_Do you even have to ask?"_ Dark Max yelled in Max's head. _"If we disappear how can we find Pandora?"_

"_I hope she's ok..."_ Max thought sadly before he jumped off the edge and landed in the dark portal, the portal closed behind him just as the platform he was standing on disappeared completely and Max's home and everything he knew was gone, disappeared into the darkness. _"Pandora...I will find you..."_ Max told himself as he drifted through the portal.

* * *

Meanwhile on another world it was a bright sunny day and two people were training on the beach, fighting each other with strange weapons that were in the shape of keys. One of the people was a young girl barely older than 18, she had long red hair tied back in a ponytail and large blue eyes which sparkled in the sunlight. She wore a white tube top with a pink heart in the middle, her midriff was showing slightly and she wore purple coloured jeans and white trainers decorated with pink hearts, she was using a weapon with a pink handle and a light green blade, a rose key ring was hanging from the handle.

The other was a young man who was about 19 years old, he had long silver hair which was slicked back into spikes and sea green coloured eyes. He wore a black t shirt with red symbols on it, black fingerless gloves, black combat pants and black leather boots. He used a dark coloured weapon with a black handle and the blade was in the shape of a large bat wing. "Not bad Kairi," the silver haired boy commented as he easily blocked the girl's strikes with his weapon. "I think you're getting better."

"Thanks..." Kairi uttered as she parried one of the boy's attacks before she suddenly started launching into rapid strikes which the boy barely managed to block.

"Whoa Kairi...too fast..." The boy uttered as he was almost knocked to the floor from the sheer strength of the blows batting against his weapon.

"What's the matter Riku?" Kairi demanded as she continued to strike hard, "can't handle it?"

"It's not that..." Riku uttered trying to think of what he could say to his friend, "I can it's just that...don't you think you're being a little too harsh on Sora?" He questioned as he gave Kairi a nervous stare.

"No I don't!" Kairi yelled as she continued to slash at Riku which he just about managed to block. "That Sora...thinks he's so big...he thinks that just because he's the Keyblade Master he knows it all...said I can't fight because I'm a girl...ha! I'll show him!"

"Maybe we should take a break..." Riku suggested as he tried his best to calm Kairi down.

"Think I can't handle it because I'm a girl!" Kairi yelled as she glared at Riku.

"Of course not..." Riku uttered nervously as he stared at Kairi. "It's just that my arm is starting to get tired and well..."

"Well what?" Kairi demanded as she scowled at Riku.

"I'll give you a clue, he has brown spiky hair, has little to no fashion sense and he's standing right behind you," Riku answered as he pointed behind Kairi causing her to stop and turn around.

"Oh..." Kairi uttered as she saw an 18 year old boy with brown unruly spiky hair and light blue eyes. He was wearing a red open jacket over a light blue shirt, he wore brown fingerless gloves, blue jeans and red trainers."What do you want?" Kairi demanded before turning her back on the boy.

"I came to apologise," the brown haired boy answered as he stepped closer to Kairi.

"_I think you should at least hear him out,"_ a voice spoke in Kairi's head.

"_He said some pretty insulting things to me Naminé," _Kairi told her Nobody. (**A/N, Even though Naminé** **is inside Kairi now she hasn't just disappeared rather she is an alternate personality and can interact with Kairi. It is the same with Sora and Roxas.**)

"_Still it wouldn't hurt to listen,"_ Naminé reasoned with Kairi.

Kairi sighed before turning round and looking at the boy, "what do you want to apologise for Sora?" Kairi questioned again, her voice was slightly calmer now.

"I wanted to apologise for all the stuff I said earlier," Sora answered as he walked a little closer to Kairi. "I know that all those things I said were..."

"_Mean, nasty, sexist..." _A voice spoke in Sora's head.

"_Thanks Roxas..."_ Sora muttered in his head before looking back at Kairi. "It was uncalled for...I shouldn't have said all those things and...I'm sorry."

Kairi sighed, "I don't know if I should accept your apology," she replied before turning her back on Sora. "After all the things you said were pretty hurtful."

"I also brought you this," Sora stated, "if you just turn around for a moment." Kairi turned round again and she saw that Sora was holding a star shaped fruit in his hand.

"A paupu fruit..." Kairi uttered as she stared at the fruit in shock.

"Your favourite if I recall..." Sora stated as he smiled at Kairi.

Kairi looked at the fruit again before smiling, "you do know it's gonna be hard for me to stay mad at you now Sora." Kairi uttered before walking over to Sora and hugging him.

"So I'm forgiven..." Sora asked hopefully as he gave Kairi his trademark cheesy grin.

Kairi thought for a moment before nodding, "yeah...you're forgiven...this time..." she answered.

"Thanks Kairi," Sora replied gratefully before hugging Kairi back.

"Hey, when you guys are done with your tender moment why don't we have a three way match?" Riku suggested as he smirked at his friends.

"I'm not sure if Kairi can take on both of us at the..." Sora started to say but he stopped as soon as he saw Kairi glare at him. "Sorry...I forgot..." Sora quickly corrected himself as he shrank back a bit.

"Well don't forget..." Kairi uttered as she jabbed her index finger into Sora's chest. "Because if you make one more remark about me not being as skilled as you and Riku because I'm a girl there'll be hell to pay."

"Well you've made that perfectly clear now..." Sora uttered still in fear of Kairi causing Riku to laugh. "Shut up Riku..." Sora told his friend off.

"I can't believe you're scared of Kairi..." Riku remarked as he continued to laugh at Sora.

"Well she is scary..." Sora spoke in a defensive tone as he glared at Riku.

"And you'd better be scared of me too Riku," Kairi commented as she smirked at her other friend. "Because I could take you and Sora on any day of the..." Kairi stopped in midsentence before she closed her eyes as she sensed something. She opened her eyes again and she saw that Riku and Sora also had their eyes closed. "Did you guys feel that?" She questioned as Riku and Sora opened their eyes and the three looked at each other.

"Yeah," Sora answered as he looked around. "I felt a sudden surge of dark power...you guys know what that means..."

"The Heartless are back," Riku uttered as he looked from Sora to Kairi. "And they've taken another world."

"But which one?" Kairi questioned as she looked at Sora and Riku.

"I dunno," Sora answered as he scratched the back of his head. "There are many worlds out there and it was pretty distant but the fact that the Heartless were even that far out worries me."

"So we go and fight them again..." Riku stated as he looked at Sora.

"We don't have a ship remember?" Sora reminded his friend.

"I remember now, our friends took it so they could get back to their world," Riku uttered as he remembered that they no longer had their ship.

"But the world that was taken by the Heartless..." Kairi muttered as she felt sad at the loss of a world. "I hope that there were some that managed to get off the world alive..." Kairi continued as she, Riku and Sora looked up at the sky and they saw one star disappear.

* * *

Meanwhile Max came out of the portal and he landed on the ground with a thud, "aaaaaahhhhh..." Max moaned as he lifted his head up and he found himself in a strange town, the streets were cobbled and the houses had an overall Victorian feel to them. Max staggered to his feet and he looked around, "where am I?" He questioned as he looked around, "I don't remember this place...maybe I could find someone and they can tell me where I am."

Max walked down the street and he found himself in what looked like a marketplace and the streets were bustling with people. "Wow..." Max uttered as he looked around, "This place is crawling with people." He started to approach people to ask where he was but they just ignored him and carried on with their daily business. Max walked through the market district and he ended up down another street with some houses, Max looked up and he saw a pink coloured castle towering above the town. "That's a strange looking castle..." Max remarked as he looked at it. "I wonder if Pandora's up there..." Without wasting anytime Max walked down the street and he climbed up some giant steps and walked into a building. He came out the other side and he came across a trail which led up to the castle.

Max walked up the trail but when he was half way up the path a dark creature rose up out of the ground and stood in front of him. "It's one of those things again!" Max yelled before he quickly took his sword out and slashed at the creature killing it instantly, however several more of the creatures showed up and started to attack Max but he quickly used a fire spell to kill them all.

Max breathed deeply for a few seconds before even more of the shadow creatures showed up alongside small armoured creatures, floating book like creatures and orbs. "What are these things?" Max screamed as he fought the advancing creatures however more and more kept showing up and it wasn't long before he was overwhelmed. Max continued to fight the creatures as best he could but he started to tire and his strikes became slower and took up more energy than they needed to. "Can't...go...on..." Max uttered as he fell to his knees. One of the armoured creatures lunged at him but it was suddenly knocked back, Max looked ahead of him and he saw a gunblade in front of him. Max looked up and he saw that wielder was a tall man with brown unkempt hair, a scar on his face and wearing dark clothing.

The man quickly moved and pulled the trigger on his gunblade taking out several of the creatures at once. Max could hear the sound of several sword strikes as another man appeared, this man had blond spiky hair, he wore dark clothing and wielded a large sword which looked much too heavy to carry. Max looked at the blond haired man and recognised him. "Cloud..." Max muttered barely above a whisper as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, he could hear the sound of footsteps as someone approached him and picked him up before he passed out.

* * *

"Do you think he's ok?" Max could faintly hear a female voice.

"He was attacked by those things..." A second female voice spoke, "it's a good thing our friends got to him when they did."

"Looks like he's comin' round," A gruff voice remarked.

"Quick give him some room," the female voice that first spoke quickly uttered.

"Uuuuuuuuuuhhhhh...huh..." Max moaned as he opened his eyes. He looked around and he saw that he was lay in a comfortable looking bed, he looked up and he saw several people gathered round him.

"Glad you decided to join the living," a shrill female voice that sounded familiar to him spoke.

Max looked to his left and he saw a young woman with short black hair, she was wearing a black tanktop shirt, black shorts, a white jacket and white boots. "Yuffie..." Max uttered as he recognised the girl instantly.

"Good to see yer memory's not crazy," the gruff voice uttered, Max looked for the source of the voice and he saw a blond haired man wearing a pilot outfit.

"Cid..." Max questioned as he started to get confused. Max then looked from one person to another and he recognised most of them, he finally stopped at a young woman with brown hair and dressed in a pink and white dress. "Aerith..."

"Who..." the brown haired woman uttered as she gave Max a confused stare.

"That's your name..." Max stated as he too gave the woman a confused stare.

"It was strange when we first met her," Yuffie stated as she smiled at Max. "But trust me she's not the Aerith you know, her name is Aeris."

"She looks really similar to Aerith though..." Max replied as he felt his head pound.

"It's best not to think about it," a raven haired woman wearing a black tube top, black shorts, black gloves and boots spoke up as she approached Max.

"I'll try not to Tifa," Max stated before looking round. "Where am I?" He asked.

"You're in Radiant Garden," Aeris answered as she smiled at Max.

"Radiant Garden..." Max repeated the name.

"That's the name of this world," Yuffie told Max. "We come here every so often to patrol it."

"But why are you here?" Tifa questioned as she gave Max an inquisitive stare.

"My world was attacked by strange dark beings...we tried to fight them but..." Max explained, his ears drooped sadly as he remembered this. "My world disappeared...this giant thing...it knocked Pandora away...she disappeared into a portal not too different to the one I disappeared in...Pandora!" Max yelled as he suddenly sat up.

"Easy..." Aeris stated as she eased Max back down. "You've had a terrible shock and you need to rest."

"I thought that Pandora would be up in that castle," Max answered as he started to calm down a bit. "So I went up there but I was attacked by the same creatures that attacked my world...those things...what are they?"

"They're called Heartless," a new voice spoke. Everyone looked around and the door opened as two men walked in, one of the men had brown unkempt hair and wore a black jacket under a white shirt, black jeans and boots. The other man had blond spiky hair and wore a black turtle neck shirt, black baggy trousers, black gloves and black boot, Max instantly recognised the two men.

"Heartless..." Max repeated the name.

"Yeah," the brown haired man replied, "they're created out of the darkness in people's hearts. They travel from world to world stealing people's hearts," the man continued to explain. "Their victims also become Heartless."

"You really do know how to lighten up the mood Leon," Yuffie uttered as she rolled her eyes.

"It's no laughing matter..." Leon uttered with a sigh, "you're lucky me and Cloud here got to you when we did," Leon told Max as he pointed at the blond haired man.

"Max..." Cloud stated in shock as he recognised the Kitsune. "What are you doing here?" Max explained everything that had happened. "So your world was destroyed by the Heartless and Pandora's disappeared..." Cloud questioned when Max had finished.

"Yeah," Max answered, "and now those Heartless are everywhere..."

"But, if this Pandora fell into a dark portal then it's possible she's still alive somewhere," Aeris stated as she gave Max a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Max uttered as he started to cheer up, he sat up before he started to stand up. "She's not dead...I...I can sense her life energy but..." Max sighed before he sat down on the bed again, "I can't pinpoint a location...she could be anywhere..."

"If you're to stand any chance of finding Pandora and staying alive you're going to need help," Tifa told Max.

"But where can I find help?" Max questioned.

"There's an old friend of ours," Leon answered as he leaned against the wall and looked over at Max. "He lives on a world called Destiny Islands, he wields a special weapon that can take out the Heartless."

"What kind of weapon?" Max asked as he looked at Leon curiously.

"It's called a Keyblade," Aeris informed Max. "It's in the shape of a key, the Heartless fear it and it can also open and close the heart of each world."

"Heart of the world..." Max uttered as his head started to pound from all the new information.

"It's what makes worlds unique," Cloud told Max. "It's what the Heartless are after, if they get to a world's heart, that world disappears."

"So that's why my world disappeared..." Max stated as he realised now what had happened.

"You need the Keyblade Master if you are to revive your world," Yuffie explained.

"Of course you'll need a ship," Cid informed Max as he walked over to him.

"Do you have a ship I can borrow?" Max asked as he looked hopefully at the pilot.

"Do I have a ship?" Cid repeated Max's question as he laughed loudly. "You're forgettin' who you're talkin' to...I'm Cid Highwind, the best damned pilot in the universe!" Cid boasted as Max shook his head. "Come on, I'll show ya the ship." Cid walked out of the room and Max followed him, Cid led Max out on to the street and to a hangar. "The ship's in here," Cid told Max as he opened the hangar door and Max saw a strange looking ship, the ship was bright red and was made out of strange building blocks.

"What's this?" Max questioned as he continued to stare at the strange ship.

"That's a Gummi ship," Cid answered as he laughed at the expression on Max's face. "It's called a Gummi ship because the blocks it's made out of are called Gummis. Ya can use this Gummi ship to get to Destiny Islands," Cid told Max.

"Can't I just use the Sierra?" Max pleaded as he looked at Cid.

"No ya can't!" Cid yelled at Max, "that's ma pride and joy only I'm allowed to pilot that. The Gummi ship is real handy for gettin' around to the different worlds."

"Thanks Cid," Max replied gratefully, "I'll take good care of it."

"Make sure ya do," Cid uttered as he waved a threatening finger at him. "The co-ordinates for Destiny Islands are already put into the onboard computer so all ya gotta do is get there."

"No problem..." Max uttered he looked around and he saw his friends stood there.

"Take care of yourself Max," Aeris stated as she waved to Max. "And feel free to visit us at anytime."

"Good luck with finding Pandora," Tifa added as she too waved.

"Thanks," Max thanked the group before getting into the Gummi ship. Much to his surprise it was quite large inside and had numerous sleeping quarters and a kitchen inside. Max made his way to the control room and walked to the pilot seat. He sat down in the chair and looked at the controls, "this doesn't look too difficult..." Max uttered as he saw some co-ordinates in the on board computer. "Those must be the co-ordinates to Destiny Islands...I just need to find out how to make this thing go." Max looked on the control panel and he saw a green button with the words open hatch written on it. "He had to make it idiot proof didn't he..." Max muttered before rolling his eyes, he couldn't help but laugh though as he pushed the button. Nothing happened for a moment but suddenly a hole opened up in the floor around the ship and it fell through. "!" Max yelled as he was thrown all about the ship because he wasn't wearing his seatbelt. (**A/N, I decided to have Max exit Radiant Garden in this way because it pays homage to the first Kingdom Hearts game and I thought it would be funny as it shows one of Max's dafter moments.**)

The Gummi Ship fell further before it emerged in space from the bottom of the world, the ship was upside down for a moment and Max found himself stuck to the ceiling. He reached out and pushed a button next to him and the Gummi ship flipped so that it was the right way up. Max landed back in the pilot seat dazed and his hair even more unruly than usual, Max shook his head. "What was that?" He questioned as he looked around confused. "I came out of the bottom of the world, I wish Cid would've warned me about that..." Max grumbled to himself.

Just as he said this the screen came online and Cid's face appeared on it, "I forgot to mention that the hatch was below the ship," Cid stated as Max scowled at him.

"Yeah you should've warned me!" Max snapped at Cid, "it scared the shit out of me…"

Cid laughed at this, "I guessed as much," he remarked. "Was your hair always that spiky?" Max grumbled under his breath as he continued to scowl at Cid. "Ya should've buckled up," Cid told Max as he waggled his finger before he went offline.

"Thanks for the advice…" Max muttered as he put his seatbelt on before he flipped the ignition switch, the rear thrusters ignited and the Gummi ship stopped drifting around. Max looked at the onboard computer and he pushed a button to see a map. "Ok...I need to go to sector 72. 258. 89. to get to Destiny Islands..." Max talked to himself as he placed his hands on the steering wheel and steered the Gummi ship so that it was facing the right direction and Max pushed another button and the Gummi ship entered Hyperspace as it blasted off.

"_I hope this Keyblade Master can help me..." _Max thought to himself as the Gummi ship made its way to Destiny Islands. _"Hang on Pandora...I'm gonna find you no matter how long it takes..."_

_

* * *

_

**That's the first chapter complete, it's pretty short actually which is a bit unusual for me. Oh well, chapter 2 will be coming up soon. I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its content, weapons, worlds, gadgets or characters. They belong to Square Enix and Disney, Max and Pandora however are my own characters and belong to me so if you want to use them in anything please ask permission first. **


	2. Gathering the Team

**Chapter 2: Gathering the Team**

On the beach world of Destiny Islands Sora and Riku were on the round raised platform sparing against each other to see who the strongest Keyblade Master was. Kairi meanwhile was sat on the bent palm tree watching them while eating the paopu fruit that Sora had given her before. She watched with keen interest as Sora struck at Riku with his Keyblade.

"You're slipping…" Riku stated slyly as he easily blocked Sora's attack with his Keyblade.

"I am not!" Sora yelled in an annoyed tone as he glared at Riku, "you're just moving too fast that's all…" Sora continued as he leaped into the air and performed an overhead vertical attack.

Riku laughed when he heard this, "what are you, five years old?" He asked mockingly as he easily blocked Sora's overhead strike without looking. Sora back flipped in midair and landed feet first on the ground before he stumbled for a couple of seconds before falling ass first on the ground. Riku snorted before he charged at Sora aiming to hit him with a vertical strike.

"I'm only a year younger than you…" Sore retorted as he quickly held his Keyblade up in a horizontal position as Riku's Keyblade hit Sora's Keyblade causing a loud clanging sound to echo through the entire beach.

Riku smirked at this, "Well maybe if you fought like a man instead of a kid you might actually get passed my defences…" Riku told Sora as he pressed his face against his friend and rival's face. "And I'm telling you this as a friend ok…"

Sora growled under his breath before he pushed Riku away and started striking at him in rapid succession. "Huh…" Riku uttered in shock at the sudden speed and strength that Sora was moving at, Sora continued to hack away at Riku's defences so much so that the latter barely managed to block each strike. Sora then warped away in a pale white light, "no way…" Riku muttered as he stared at the spot where Sora was.

Sora smirked as he warped behind Riku, his smirk grew even wider before he transformed into Roxas. The Kingdom Key transformed into a white coloured Keyblade with a multi-coloured star shaped blade and a yellow star shaped keyring (Oathkeeper) and a jet black coloured Keyblade with a blade similar to the Kingdom Keyblade and a black crown keyring (Oblivion).

Roxas charged at Riku while dragging both his Keyblades across the sand causing dust to trail behind the Keyblades as he ran. Riku turned around and he saw Roxas charging towards him, Roxas swung his Keyblades round and leapt into the air as he approached Riku. Riku held his Keyblade out and up as Roxas fell towards him and swung his Keyblades down. The three weapons met with an almighty clash throwing Riku backwards, Riku dug his feet into the ground to get a better grip as he pushed back on Roxas' Keyblades causing him to stagger back slightly. After a while Roxas pushed back hard knocking Riku off balance and causing the silver haired boy to fall to the ground.

Roxas smirked as he pointed his Keyblades at Riku, Riku scowled at Roxas. "Pure evil..." Riku muttered as Roxas laughed before changing back into Sora.

"What was that about me fighting like a five year old?" Sora asked mockingly as he continued to laugh.

"Yeah, yeah..." Riku muttered as he staggered to his feet before punching Sora playfully in the chest. "I think I'm gonna take a break for a while." Riku told his two friends as he started to walk off.

"You don't have to leave on our account..." Kairi told Riku as she leapt off the bent palm tree and walked over to Sora and Riku.

Riku stopped for a moment before looking back at his friends, "I want to spend some quiet time alone..." Riku told the two as he smirked. "Besides, I really don't wanna see you two tongue wrestle again..." He added before turning round and walking off.

"We seriously need to set him up with someone..." Kairi told Sora as the brown haired boy smirked.

"Knowing what a miserable git Riku is it won't be easy," Sora added before looking at Kairi and smirking. "Now we're finally alone together..."

Kairi giggled as Sora wrapped his arms round Kairi's waist, "Sora..." Kairi uttered as she gave Sora a nervous stare.

"Relax...it's just the two of us..." Sora reassured Kairi as he started kissing her neck.

Riku meanwhile was walking along the beach kicking pebbles as he went, he walked over to the edge of the ocean and sighed to himself as he looked out. "This is so boring..." he muttered to himself as he placed his hands behind his head. "I miss the good old days when we actually had adventures and fun...now we just sit around here all day doing nothing..." Riku sighed again before looking up at the sky not knowing that the next adventure was going to start sooner than he thought.

* * *

Meanwhile Max's Gummi ship shot out of hyperspace right near a world that was mostly yellow and blue. "This must be it!" Max yelled excitedly as he looked at the world he was heading towards, "now...I just need to land this thing gently." Max pushed down on the steering lever causing the Gummi ship to plummet down to the planet.

"Ok ease up, ease up, ease up..." Max repeated to himself as he tried to pull back on the steering lever.

"Warning...the ship is going too fast for a normal landing...prepare for emergency crash landing!" A mechanical female voice echoed through the entire ship.

"WHAT?!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he continued to struggle to get the ship to level out. However just as he managed to level out the Gummi ship it crash landed into the ground and skidded along the ground creating a trail of sand and dust behind it before it crashed into a palm tree. Max was thrown back in his chair before he was thrust forwards again. "Ok...so I'm alive and unharmed..." Max uttered as he sighed with relief. Max looked up and noticed the steering lever wobble slightly, "not good..." he muttered before the steering lever fell off and hit Max on the head. "Ow..." Max moaned as he rubbed the area of his head where the steering lever hit him. "Ok...I'm alive and relatively unharmed..." Max rephrased himself as he unbuckled his seatbelt and slid out of his seat. "Well the steering lever is gonna need fixing but I've got more pressing issues right now..." Max stated as he got out of the Gummi ship and looked around.

Max looked up at the palm tree, "looks like the palm tree stopped the Gummi Ship," Max remarked as he saw that it was bent. "And took the brunt of the damage by the looks of it..." A coconut wobbled on its branch before it fell and hit Max on the head in the same spot where the steering lever hit. "OH COME ON!" Max yelled at the top of his lungs as he rubbed his head where the coconut had hit him, he growled irritably before quickly moving away from the palm tree before he sustained any more blows to the head.

Max walked down the beech and looked around as he saw a large tree with a small pool next to it and three boats at a jetty. "Wow...this place is great..." Max stated as he looked around the beech. "Maybe when all this is over me and Pandora can come on vacation here..." Max sighed sadly as he imagined himself and Pandora sat on the beech laughing and having a good time. "Where are you Pandora?" Max asked himself sadly before moving on.

Meanwhile, Riku turned away from the ocean and started to make his way back to his friends when he saw a strange figure walking along the beach. "Huh..." Riku questioned as he gave the figure a suspicious look. "Whoever he is...I've got a strange feeling about him..." Riku crept closer to the figure and he saw that on closer examination that the person was a green furred fox like creature with five tails. "That's weird..." Riku uttered before summoning his Keyblade.

The green furred fox stopped for a moment as he sensed that something wasn't right, he summoned his sword and looked down at it for a moment before swinging it round causing it to clash against something metal. The green furred fox looked at what his sword was clashed against and saw that it was a strange weapon, he then looked up and saw that the wielder was a silver haired boy. "Who the hell are you?" The silver haired boy demanded as he glared at the fox like creature.

"Who's askin'?" The green furred fox retorted as he glared at the silver haired boy.

"I'm Riku...I live here...and there's no need to ask who you are...Heartless!" Riku yelled this last part as he aimed to strike the fox creature with his weapon but the green furred fox easily blocked it.

"Heartless..." the fox creature uttered as he stared at Riku in shock. "You mean those dark creatures that appear everywhere..."

Riku punched the green furred fox in the face, "don't try to be smart with me!" he yelled as he pointed his Keyblade at the fox's throat only to have the fox's sword being pointed at his throat to counter it. "I know what you are!"

"You have no idea what I am! My name is Max Borealis!" Max yelled as his frustration began to grow. "I need to see the Keyblade Master!"

"So you can kill him!" Riku shot back as he slashed at Max with the Kitsune easily countering each strike.

"No!" Max yelled as he glowed green and forced Riku back with his telekinetic powers.

Riku dug his feet into the ground as he skidded along the sand and regained his balance. "Only a heartless would have powers like that!" Riku screamed at Max as he glared at him. "Or maybe you're a Nobody!"

Max sighed before shaking his head and rolling his eyes, "a Nobody...I don't even know what that is..." Max uttered, "but you're really starting to irritate me..." he muttered through gritted teeth as he held his sword behind him.

Riku let out a yell as he charged at Max dragging his Keyblade behind him, Max huffed before thrusting his hand down on the ground, his hand glowed green as he channelled mana into it and the ground started to shake violently and sand flew everywhere as the ground continued to shake blinding Riku before the ground threw him up into the air. Max put his sword back into his dimension and his gauntlets appeared on his hands. He then leapt up into the air and flew above Riku, Riku gasped when he saw Max. Max thrust his fist out below him and punched Riku hard in the stomach knocking him to the ground.

Riku fell to the ground and landed back first as Max landed safely next to him. Riku moaned as he slowly sat up. "Give up..." Max questioned as he scowled at Riku. Riku growled before staggering to his feet and limped at Max holding his Keyblade with one hand and holding his stomach with his other hand. Max sighed in frustration before grabbing hold of Riku's head to stop him from advancing, "I'll take that as a no..." he added before pushing Riku back with such a force that it knocked him back to the ground. Max walked over to Riku and placed his foot on Riku's stomach to stop him from getting up. Riku moaned as he struggled to move Max's foot. "I don't have to mess around with a punk kid..." Max uttered as he barred his teeth so that Riku could see his sharp fangs. "Tell me...where can I find the Keyblade Master..."

"What if I refuse?" Riku questioned as he glared up at Max.

"Then I just beat the shit out of you..." Max answered a hint of menace in his voice, "you're lucky I was only using a small fraction of my power." Max told Riku, "if I was using all my power then you'd be in a worse state than you are now so be a good boy and tell me where the Keyblade Master is."

Riku sighed, "Ok...fine..." he gave in as Max lifted his foot up and Riku staggered to his feet. "Follow me..." Riku slowly walked off and Max followed him. Riku led Max to the place where the bent palm tree was. "Guys...there's someone who wants to..." Riku started to say but he stopped in midsentence when he saw Sora and Kairi kissing. "Gross!" Riku yelled as he covered his eyes, "that's not something I wanted to see..."

Sora and Kairi quickly broke apart, "we were just..." Kairi started to say.

"I know what you were doing!" Riku quickly interrupted her as he scowled at his friends, "it's still gross..."

"Am I detecting a hint of jealously..." Sora teased as he walked over to his friend.

"No!" Riku yelled as he leapt back in shock causing Sora to laugh at him. "I can have my pick of any girl I want..."

"What about Selphie?" Kairi asked as she walked over to Riku and Sora.

"Selphie..." Riku uttered as he stared at Kairi.

"Well she's always had the hots for you and you said you can have your pick of any girl," Kairi told Riku as she smirked at him.

"Yeah...but Selphie!" Riku yelled as Sora and Kairi burst out laughing causing Riku to scowl.

"Ehem..." Max cleared his throat causing the three to stare at him. "I hate to cut short your...interesting conversation but I need one of you to tell me where the Keyblade Master is."

"You mean Keyblade Masters..." Kairi corrected him.

"Come again..." Max questioned as he stared at Kairi.

"There's more than one Keyblade Master," Kairi answered as she smiled at Max.

"Right..." Max uttered as he stared at the three, "Could you tell me where they are?"

Sora smiled, "you're lookin' at 'em," he answered as he pointed to himself, Kairi and Riku.

Max stared at the three in shock before laughing slightly, "You're kidding right..." he uttered as he pointed at Sora. The three shook their heads, "you mean to tell me that the Keyblade Masters are a trio of kids..."

"Hey...less of the kids..." Sora admonished as he scowled at Max slightly.

Max sighed before shaking his head, "this can't be happening..." he muttered as he walked round, "I need to sit down..." He sat down on the bent palm tree and buried his head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Kairi questioned as she walked over to Max and sat down next to him.

"My world has been destroyed by those Heartless...my wife is missing and the fabled Keyblade Masters are kids..." Max answered as he looked up at Kairi. "Apart from that there's nothing wrong..."

"So it was your world that the Heartless took..." Riku uttered as he too walked over to Max. "I'm sorry I mistook you for a Heartless..."

"It's ok," Max accepted Riku's apology.

"We'll help you," Sora promised as he walked over and sat on the other side of Max. "We may be kids to you but we can fight, that's if you'll accept our help."

Max sighed, "It doesn't look like I have any choice," he replied as he stood up. "I'll need your help if I'm to find Pandora and survive."

"Yeah, considering the Keyblades are the only weapons that the Heartless are afraid of," Sora informed Max as both he and Kairi stood up. "I'm Sora," Sora told Max his name as he held his hand out in front of Max.

"Kairi," Kairi introduced herself as she placed her hand on top of Sora's.

"Name's Riku," Riku told Max as he placed his hand on top of Kairi's.

"I'm Max," Max finally stated as he placed his hand on top of Riku's.

The four stood there smiling at each other before they released their hands, "do you have a ship?" Kairi asked Max as she stared at him.

"Yeah," Max answered, "that's how I got to this world."

"Good," Sora replied as he smiled at Max. "Because we need a ship to get around, where is it?"

"It's on the beach where I crash landed it..." Max informed the group as Sora started laughing. "What's so funny?" Max demanded as he stared at Sora.

"Nothing...you just reminded me of someone that's all..." Sora replied absent mindedly. "Don't get me wrong he was a great fighter and a so-so pilot when he wasn't crashing the ship."

Max thought for a moment before nodding, "I see...who was he?" Max asked eager to find out about Sora's old friend.

"You know, I can't remember his name..." Sora told Max, "It's strange I know but...his name just slipped out of my mind."

Max nodded to show that he understood, _"Cloud mentioned a guy who was a great warrior too...but he couldn't remember the guy's name...could this be the same person?" _Max thought to himself.

"Lead the way Max," Kairi spoke up causing Max to snap out of his thoughts.

"Sure," Max replied as he smiled at the group before leading them away from the bent tree. The group walked down the beach until they came across the Gummi ship which was still crashed into the palm tree.

"Well it doesn't look too bad..." Sora stated as he walked closer to the ship to inspect it.

"The steering lever fell off in the crash," Max told the group.

"Where is it?" Riku questioned as he stared at Max.

"Here," Max answered as he warped the steering lever out of his dimension. "The bastard hit me on the head as it fell off..."

Sora laughed again, "you're so like my old friend..." he remarked.

"I'm usually very careful actually..." Max told Sora in a slightly offended tone.

"I'm sure it can be fixed," Kairi stated reassuringly as she walked passed the two and entered the ship. The rest of the group followed her and looked around.

"Quite roomy in here," Riku commented as he smiled.

"I was surprised myself actually," Max admitted as the group entered the bridge. Max walked over to the pilot seat and looked at the hole where the steering lever used to be. "Yeah...it just needs screwing back on..." Max stated as he warped a wrench out of his dimension.

"Wow..." Sora uttered in awe, "You carry a wrench with you..."

"Never know when you might need it..." Max advised Sora as he started to get to work fixing the steering lever.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Riku asked unsure whether to trust a green furred fox.

"Yeah..." Max answered as he continued to work. "I do..."

"Why do you have multiple tails?" Kairi asked as curiosity got the better of her.

"I'm a Kitsune," Max answered without looking at them. "And in case you're giving me blank expressions Kitsunes are a race of foxes with multiple tails." Max continued.

"How did you know we were giving you blank stares?" Sora questioned.

"Because when I travelled to another world the people there were exactly the same," Max told the group as he tightened the steering lever before sitting up. "Ok, that'll do it..." Max stated before putting his wrench away. Max stood up to stretch himself just as Sora got into the pilot seat, "what are you doing?" Max demanded as he scowled at Sora.

"It's my turn to pilot the ship," Sora told Max.

"Since when?" Kairi questioned as she folded his arms.

"Because I never got my turn during the last two adventures," Sora stated as he pouted slightly.

"Well I think it's my turn," Kairi uttered as she walked over to Sora and grabbed his arm and started to drag him out of the chair.

"I think piloting should be best left to the men," Riku stated blankly causing Kairi to scowl at him.

"WHAT?!" Kairi yelled as she started to stomp towards Riku and punched him.

"Ow..." Riku uttered as he rubbed his face where Kairi had punched him.

"I'm starting to like her a lot more," Max stated as he laughed causing Riku to scowl at him.

"Well the last pilot we had was female," Sora replied as he sat back in his chair. "And she was awesome."

"And who's this female then?" Max questioned as he smirked at Sora.

"I can't remember her name but she was a friend of the guy that was with us," Sora told Max.

"Interesting..." Max stated before closing his eyes as memories flashed in his mind.

"Something on your mind..." Kairi asked causing Max to open his eyes and stare at her.

"Just remembering something that's all," Max answered vaguely before walking over to the pilot seat. "But this is my ship which means I'm the pilot so move."

"Make me..." Sora replied before folding his arms stubbornly. Max smirked before lifting his hand up causing Sora to rise up at the same time and crash into the ceiling. "Ow..." Sora let out a muffled moan as he was stuck in the ceiling. Max calmly sat down in the pilot's seat as Sora fell to the floor next to him. "What did you do that for?" Sora demanded as he glared at Max.

"To get you out of my seat," Max answered without looking at Sora.

"How did you do that without touching him?" Riku questioned as he started to like Max more and more.

"I'll explain later, right now we need to get off this world," Max answered as he pushed buttons and flipped switches as the ship came back online.

"Shouldn't you put the co-ordinates in?" Kairi questioned as she looked at Max.

"Yeah...we should go to King Mickey's castle first," Sora replied as he looked down at the controls.

"King Mickey..." Max uttered as he looked at Sora.

"He's a friend of ours," Sora answered. "He's also a Keyblade Master, he could help us along with some other old friends of ours."

"We'll need all the help we can get," Kairi added.

"Ok," Max stated, "I'd buckle up if I were you," Max warned the group as they sat in their seats and strapped in. Max put his seatbelt on. "What are the co-ordinates for this guy's castle?" Max asked as he looked at Sora.

"40.233.60." Sora answered as Max put the co-ordinates into the computer.

"Thanks," Max replied as he flipped the ignition switch and the rear thrusters ignited. Max pulled back on the steering lever causing the Gummi ship to reverse away from the tree causing the damaged tree to fall before Max pushed forwards on the steering lever and the Gummi ship took off. After a few minutes it left Destiny Islands and started to make its way to King Mickey's castle.

* * *

Meanwhile on a world with various orange buildings and with a sky that seemed to be in perpetual twilight three teenagers were hanging out in a medium sized square area with a battered sofa and various other battered and dusty furniture.

One was a boy with blond slicked back hair and wearing grey coloured combat pants, blue sleeveless shirt, black sneakers and black shades over his eyes. He was quite tall and skinny and went by the name of Hayner, he was lay on the old sofa with his legs dangling over the arm of the sofa with his arms behind his head.

The second teenager was a boy who was slightly shorter and stockier than Hayner. He had dark brown spiky hair which was held in place by a red bandana, he wore dark blue jeans and a red coloured hoody, he also wore brown fingerless gloves and brown boots. The boy was called Pence and was leaning against the wall.

The third teenager was a girl with long light brown hair tied back in two plats, she wore an orange low cut t-shirt showing her midriff slightly and yellow shorts, she also wore white trainers and was named Olette. She was sat on a wooden crate with one leg crossed over the other.

"What do you guys wanna do today?" Hayner asked as he looked over at his friends.

"We could go to the beach," Pence suggested.

"The beach…are you crazy?" Hayner questioned as he gave Pence a questioning stare, "do you know how expensive the train is nowadays?"

"We don't even have enough Munny for one train ticket…" Olette stated forlornly as she took out a small brown Munny pouch with a floral design on it and shook it as they heard the sound of loose change being shaken. "We could go to the shopping district…"

"We went yesterday…" Hayner told Olette as he lay back down again.

"We could hang out at the Sandlot and practice for the Struggle tournament," Pence replied as he smirked at the thought of the Struggle Tournament.

"What's the point?" Hayner asked in a bored tone. "We'll never beat Seifer…every year we get our asses handed to us…besides Seifer and his cronies hang out at the Sandlot…"

"Well at least we're coming up with ideas!" Olette snapped as she folded her arms and scowled at Hayner. "I don't see you coming up with any suggestions!"

Hayner sighed irritably before he stood up and walked up and down ruffling his hair, "there has to be something…" he uttered as he continued to pace up and down.

"Let's just go to the Sandlot…" Olette stated finally as she got off the wooden crate. "It's better than nothing…"

"I guess…" Hayner uttered before the three walked out of their usual spot and walked down the street and down some steps to a large square platform that was raised slightly. As they got there they saw four people gathered round something. "What's goin' on?" Hayner asked as he Pence and Olette walked over to the group just as they turned round.

"What do you losers want?" One of the other teenagers demanded, he had short blond hair he wore a white open coat with no shirt underneath so that everyone could see his six pack. He wore black baggy pants with a brown leather belt, he also wore brown leather boots and went by the name of Seifer.

"Get lost Seifer!" Hayner snapped as he glared at the slightly older boy.

"You gonna make me punk..." Seifer shot back as he smirked.

"Lay off him Seifer, he's probably nervous about the Struggle tournament ya know..." Another boy spoke, this boy had black hair which was styled in short spikes and he had tanned skin. He wore a black sleeveless sports shirt with a red flame pattern on the side of it, black tracksuit bottoms and white sneakers, he wore red sweatbands round his wrists. He went by the name of Rai.

"We're not nervous!" Pence retorted as he stepped forwards. "In fact we're ready as we'll ever be!"

The rival group started laughing when they heard this, "whatever..." a girl uttered in a single syllable. She was quite tall and skinny and had short silver hair with the fringe covering one of her eyes. She was very well dressed wearing a blue low cut shirt and a white jacket over it, she wore blue shorts and white and blue trainers.

"Fuu's right," Seifer gloated as he continued to smirk at Hayner and folded his arms. "What makes you think you pipsqueaks stand a chance against me..."

"Why you?!" Hayner yelled as he charged at Seifer but Pence grabbed Hayner and started to drag him back.

"He's not worth it!" Pence yelled to Hayner as he struggled to hold him back.

"What's that you're gathered round?" Olette asked as she pointed behind the group.

"We don't know what it is," the fourth member of the group spoke, he was a small kid barely older than ten or eleven years old. He wore a blue and white over coat with the large collar sticking up and white baggy trousers. His face was obscured by a large brown hat that he wore, he also wore brown boots that looked way too big for him. "We were just here minding our own business when suddenly everything was dark and..."

Shut up Vivi!" Seifer snapped at the boy as he glared at him. "It's none of their business..."

"Says who!" Hayner yelled as he charged at Seifer again dragging Pence with him.

"Says the guy that runs this town," Seifer answered as he pointed at himself. However Hayner, Pence and Olette pushed passed Seifer, Rai, Fuu and Vivi and saw someone lying on the ground unconscious.

"Is that a person?" Olette questioned as she pointed at the unconscious person.

"That's the weirdest person I've ever seen..." Hayner remarked as he folded his arms.

"Yeah..." Pence agreed as he took a closer look at the person to discover that they were female. "She looks humanoid but she looks like a bat as well..."

"Strange..." Fuu uttered as she walked over to the three.

"She just appeared outta nowhere ya know..." Rai added as he too approached the group.

The group heard a soft moan coming from the woman, "she's waking up..." Olette replied as everyone got closer to the woman. "Give her some air..." They stepped back slightly as the woman's eyes flickered before fluttering open.

Uuhhhh...huh..." the woman moaned as she slowly sat up and held her head.

"Are you ok?" Olette asked the woman her voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah I think so…" the woman answered as she shook her head. "Where am I?" She asked as she looked at all the faces.

"This is Twilight Town," Pence answered as he pointed all around him.

"Twilight Town…" The woman repeated the name as she looked around her. "I see…it's always twilight here."

"My name is Olette," Olette introduced herself. "And this is Hayner, Pence, Seifer, Rai, Fuu and Vivi…" she introduced everyone in turn as she pointed to each person.

"We found you," Hayner added as he smiled the woman.

"What's with all this 'we' stuff?" Seifer demanded as he glared at Hayner.

"I'm really grateful to you all…" the woman quickly cut in to avoid any arguments and she slowly stood up and looked around her. As she looked around she saw what looked like a young male Kitsune with blue fur, he had bright green eyes and lighter blue hair which was slicked back and spiky. He was wearing a black hoody and black baggy pants, with black fingerless gloves and black boots. His four tails stuck out at four different angles. "Huh…" the woman uttered as she rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't imagining it. When she opened her eyes again the Kitsune had disappeared. "Odd…it must've been my imagination…" the woman added as she merely shrugged.

The woman sensed that something was odd before several strange beings appeared out of nowhere, "let's get out of here!" Seifer yelled as he and his gang as well as Pence, Hayner and Olette ran from the Sandlot as more of the strange white beings appeared.

The woman looked at the beings and they started to advance towards her, she instinctively got into a fighting stance as the being that was nearest lunged at her. The woman kicked at the being but it stretched itself easily avoiding the attack. "What the hell…" the woman uttered as she kicked out again at the creature but it continued to dodge her attacks. "Those kicks should've struck it…"

The woman cast several lightning spells at the beings, some of the spells hit some of the beings and they were stunned for a while and the woman charged at the beings that were stunned and launched into a vicious kicking combo causing them to disappear into darkness however there were still a good number of the beings left and they all lunged at the woman at once completely overwhelming her. She fell to the ground and shuffled backwards as the beings continued to advance on her, the creatures leapt at the woman only to crash into a large wall of fire instantly incinerating them. The flames were so bright that the woman had to cover her eyes, after a while the flames died down and the woman opened her eyes to discover that all the creatures had gone. "What were those things…" she questioned as she stood up and looked all around her trying to find the source of the flames.

"Those were Nobodys," a male voice suddenly spoke. The woman turned round and she saw a man with flaming red hair which was spiked up and green eyes. He wore a black shirt underneath a red open jack with a flame style on it, he wore red trousers with a flame style on the cuffs, he wore brown gloves and boots.

"Nobodys…" the woman repeated as she stared at the man.

"It's kind of hard to explain," the man answered as he smirked at the woman. "Nobodys are what's left when a person becomes a Heartless…"

"What are Heartless?" The woman questioned causing the man to laugh.

"You're not from around here are you?" He asked as he gave the woman a knowing look.

"No," the woman answered. "I don't know where I'm from…all I remember is darkness…"

"Hmmm…" the man uttered as he gave the woman a thoughtful look. "Do you know your name?"

"Pandora…" the woman stated without hesitation.

"Well at least you remember your name," the man stated in relief. "The name's Axel, got it memorised…"

"I think so," Pandora replied as she tried hard not to laugh.

"Good," Axel responded as he continued to smirk. "There's been an increase in both Nobody and Heartless activity lately," Axel explained to Pandora. "You were lucky I was around…"

"That was you who created that firewall…" Pandora uttered as she looked over at Axel.

"Yeah," Axel boasted as he folded his arms. "You have to be quick if ya wanna defeat those tricky bastards."

"How do you know so much about Nobodys?" Pandora questioned as she gave Axel a curious stare.

"Because I'm a Nobody," Axel answered as he pointed at himself. "I know what you're thinking…how come I don't look like those things you fought just now…"

"Well yeah…" Pandora stated.

"When a really strong person becomes a Heartless, the resulting Nobody retains its human form…" Axel began to explain everything. "We exist separately to our original selves."

"So where is your original self?" Pandora asked Axel.

"Not sure," Axel answered as he shrugged his shoulders. "He died as far as I know…"

"I'm sorry to hear that," Pandora replied as she gave Axel a sympathetic look.

"It's ok," Axel stated as he smiled at her. "I never knew him anyway…a Nobody that's able to find and fuse with their original selves is considered to be lucky…it's very rare that a Nobody finds their original self…I used to be a member of Organisation XIII."

"Organisation XIII…" Pandora repeated.

"Yeah," Axel replied as he nodded. "They were a group formed by the strongest Nobodys, they were pure evil, causing havoc in all the worlds so they can control the Heartless…" Axel explained everything to Pandora. "I'm sorry to say that I was a part of it…but an old friend helped me to see the error of my ways, I helped to clear a way to the Organisation's strong hold in the World That Never Was. However I used up all my energy and was near death but another friend of mine healed me and told me to live my life and since that day I took his words to heart."

"Who was he, this friend of yours?" Pandora questioned eager to find out more.

"It doesn't matter," Axel answered vaguely. "I haven't seen him in years and I've forgotten his name."

"Ok," Pandora replied.

"Anyway, that's enough about me, what about you?" Axel asked eager to find out more about Pandora.

"There's not much to tell really…" Pandora answered. "I don't really remember much…" She stated sadly as she looked down.

"Are you married?" Axel asked inquisitively.

"Huh…" Pandora uttered as she looked up at Axel.

"The ring," Axel answered as he pointed to her hand.

Pandora looked down at her left hand and she saw a golden ring encrusted with rubies an amethysts on her middle finger. _"Where did this ring come from?" _Pandora thought to herself, she moaned softly as she closed her eyes and saw glimpses of a green furred Kitsune with green spiky hair. _"That green furred Kitsune…who is he…was he the one that gave me this ring?"_

"Are you ok?" Axel asked, his voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah…" Pandora replied as she opened her eyes. "I just remembered something…or someone…it's only brief though."

"Well I can help you," Axel offered.

"Really…" Pandora uttered as she smiled at Axel.

"Sure," Axel answered as he smiled back at Pandora. "We'll have to go off world though," Axel told Pandora. "So we can find this person you vaguely remember and find out why the Nobody's have been suddenly appearing."

Pandora then remembered the blue furred Kitsune that was there before the Nobodys showed up. "Wait there was a blue furred Kitsune stood over there a few seconds before those Nobodys showed up," Pandora informed Axel as she pointed to the far corner of Sandlot.

"Hmmm…you saw him too huh…" Axel replied as he looked in the direction that Pandora was pointing in.

"You mean this isn't the first time he's showed up…" Pandora uttered as she stared at Axel in shock.

"No," Axel answered. "He's shown up every so often, but he disappears after a few seconds…but every time he shows up Nobodys appear soon after…it's like he's a bad omen."

"I suppose if we find that Kitsune guy we'll get to the bottom of where those Nobodys are coming from," Pandora suggested as she looked at Axel.

"It wouldn't hurt to find him," Axel stated as he nodded in agreement. "Still it disturbs me about the increased Nobody activity…I hope you don't get queasy with portal travel."

"Not really," Pandora answered.

"Good," Axel replied as he held his hand out and a colourless portal appeared in front of Axel and Pandora. (**A/N because Axel is no longer a member of Organisation XIII he doesn't use dark portals anymore however he uses neutral portals to travel. They work in the same way as dark portals but they're colourless rather than purple-black.**). "After you," Axel continued as he pointed to the portal.

"Is it safe?" Pandora asked as she eyed the portal suspiciously.

"Of course," Axel answered as he nodded. "We don't have a ship so it's the only other way to travel."

"Ok," Pandora replied before jumping into the portal, Axel followed her and the portal disappeared. _"I hope he knows what he's doing…" _Pandora thought to herself as she and Axel travelled through the portal.

* * *

Meanwhile Max's Gummi ship arrived at another planet which was mostly green, "we're here!" Sora yelled excitedly as he pointed at the world. Max steered the ship downwards as it entered the planet's atmosphere. "This world has changed so much since I last came here," Sora stated as he looked at the lush green fields before the ship arrived at an enormous white castle.

"It's so beautiful…" Kairi remarked as she stared at the pure white castle in awe as the Gummi Ship flew through large golden coloured gates with a mouse head insignia as a decoration.

"Wow…I thought the Kitsune palace was huge but this place really beats it by far…" Max commented as he looked down at the large courtyard.

Eventually the Gummi ship landed on a landing pad and the pad automatically moved down as the ship landed on it. "Where is it taking us?" Kairi asked in a panicked tone as she saw only darkness all around her.

"Relax, it's just taking us down to the dock," Sora answered as the pad finally came to a stop.

The group removed their seatbelts and got out of the Gummi ship, they found themselves in a large cavernous room with numerous advanced looking controls. "Wow…" Max uttered as he looked around, "this place is huge!" The group barely took a few steps before Max felt a tickling sensation in his body. "Ha, ha, ha!" Max suddenly burst out laughing as he felt tiny feet running across his body.

"Max are you ok?" Sora asked as he, Riku and Kairi stared at him.

"Yeah…" Max uttered as he tried hard to stifle his laughter. "There's…something…on…me…" Max found it hard to speak as he finally fell on the floor in hysterics.

The group looked down at Max and saw two small lumps running up and down Max's body, "I think I can get them," Sora stated before he stamped down on Max's chest with his foot. The two lumps moved out of the way as Sora's foot slammed into Max's chest.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Max yelled in pain as he held his chest where Sora stamped on him.

"Hold still…" Sora told him.

"I'm trying too!" Max shouted as he scowled at Sora, "but you hit me!"

"Let me try," Kairi offered as she stamped down on Max's stomach where the two lumps were before they moved, Kairi's foot struck Max in the stomach winding him.

Max let out a muffled yell as he rolled over slightly and held his stomach, "Not helping!" He yelled as soon as he got his breath back.

"You guys are doing it wrong…" Riku commented calmly as he smirked at his friends. "You need to get them like this." Riku lifted his foot high before slamming down hard on Max's body.

Max let out a high pitched yell as he held his privates and rolled around in pain for a while, "YOU BASTARD! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?!" Max yelled in a high pitched voice as his new friends laughed at him.

"I guess I missed them…" Riku stated calmly as Max staggered slowly to his feet and glared at the silver haired boy.

Suddenly two small chipmunk like creatures emerged out of the bottom of Max's trousers and ran away from the group. "Are you trying to kill us?" One of the chipmunks demanded in a high pitched voice as he glared at the group.

"We were only having fun…" the other chipmunk added.

"Well try not to crawl to crawl over Max's body, he doesn't like it," Sora told the two chipmunks.

"Sora!" The two chipmunks yelled excitedly as they ran up his legs and stood on his shoulders.

"It's good to see you guys again," Sora stated as he smiled at the two chipmunks.

"Who are these guys?" One of the chipmunks asked as they stared at Sora's friends.

"These are Riku and Kairi," Sora answered as he pointed to Riku and Kairi. "And the guy you were both running all over is called Max."

The two chipmunks looked at Max, "sorry about that," the chipmunk with the black nose apologised. "We were having a bit of fun."

"It's ok," Max accepted their apology. "Try not to do that again in future."

"Ok," both chipmunks replied in perfect unision.

"This is Chip," Sora introduced them as he pointed to the chipmunk with the black nose. "And Dale," Sora pointed at the chipmunk with the red nose. "They're the Gummi Ship engineers."

Max burst out laughing when he heard this, "what's so funny?" Chip demanded as he scowled at Max.

"No way are you guys the engineers for the Gummi Ship," Max commented as he looked at the chipmunks on Sora's shoulders. "You're both so small..." he remarked as he poked both chipmunks in the stomach.

"Watch who you're callin' small pal!" Chip yelled at Max as he jumped off Sora's shoulder and landed on Max's. "We just so happen to be the best Gummi Ship engineers around, right Dale."

"That's right Chipper," Dale agreed with his partner as he leapt on to Max's other shoulder.

"Right..." Max replied sceptically as he looked from one to the other.

"Cut it out you guys," Sora cut in causing the two chipmunks to leap off Max's shoulder and landed on the floor. Sora knelt down so that he was almost level with them. "Have you seen King Mickey, Donald and Goofy?" Sora asked the two chipmunks.

"They're in the throne room," Dale answered. "They're having a meeting about the recent events."

"They're already aware of it, that's a good thing right?" Max asked as he looked at his friends.

"King Mickey is a wise and powerful man," Kairi replied. "He'll think of something."

"We should go up there and talk to him right away," Riku added.

"Let's go," Sora commanded. "You guys re-fuel the ship and do any necessary repairs," Sora told the two chipmunks. Chip and Dale saluted before they darted to the Gummi Ship and started to re-fuel it.

Sora, Riku, Kairi and Max left the ships hangar and walked out into the castle courtyard, "whoa..." Max uttered in amazement as he saw the green fields and the bushes that were cut in the shape of a mouse head. The four traversed through the courtyard and entered the main castle and Max was amazed at how immaculate the halls were.

The group walked up the fancy staircase and walked through the upstairs hallway, Max stared all around him as enchanted brooms carrying buckets walked passed him. "The brooms are alive..." Max uttered as he looked back at the broomsticks as they walked round the corner.

"This place is magical," Sora told Max. "It's the magic in this castle that's brought them to life and is keeping them alive."

"I see..." Max replied as he nodded to show that he understood.

"Here we are," Sora told the group as they stopped outside a large door. He knocked on the door and a smaller door opened in front of them.

"Odd..." Kairi uttered as she looked through the smaller door.

"Why couldn't we just go through the bigger door?" Riku asked as he looked at Sora."What's with the smaller door?"

"I've been wondering the same thing myself," Sora answered as he walked through the door.

Kairi, Riku and Max followed him. The group barely had chance to look round the room when they heard a loud yell. "SORA!" Sora looked around as a small white duck wearing a wizard robe and hat and a taller dog wearing loose clothing and shoulder armour ran towards Sora and dived on him.

"We've missed you so much Sora!" The dog yelled as he and the duck continued to hug Sora.

"Donald...Goofy...can't...breathe..." Sora muttered barely above a whisper as Donald and Goofy got off him.

"Gosh, we're sorry..." the dog apologised as he helped Sora up.

"It's ok," Sora accepted his apology, Riku, Kairi and Max laughed at this.

"KAIRI! RIKU!" Donald and Goofy yelled at the same time as they ran at them.

"Please don't wrestle us to the ground guys..." Kairi pleaded with her two friends. They stopped before hugging Kairi and Riku in turn.

They then stopped and looked at Max, "Who's he?" The duck asked as he gave Max a sceptical stare.

"This is Max," Sora introduced his new friend. "Max, meet Donald," Sora pointed to the duck. "And Goofy," he pointed to the dog.

"Nice to meet ya," Goofy greeted as he vigorously shook Max's hand before letting go.

Max grunted in pain as he held his arm but he yelled as Donald grabbed the same arm and started to shake it. "Arm...feels like it's gonna drop off..." Max muttered as Donald and Goofy stared at him.

"He's a funny looking guy..." Donald commented as he continued to stare at Max.

"Look who's talkin'..." Max muttered in an offended tone.

Donald yelled out loud when he heard that, "Why you..." he started to say but Sora quickly cut in.

"Knock it off you two, we need to see the King," Sora stepped between Max and Donald.

"Why didn't ya say so," Goofy answered. "Follow us," the group followed Donald and Goofy through the large room until they reached a throne where a small mouse wearing royal clothing was sat.

Everyone bowed to the mouse including Max, "your majesty," everyone stated in unison as the mouse stood up.

"It's good to see you three again," the mouse told Sora, Kairi and Riku as he smiled at them. He then looked at Max. "You must be Maximilian Borealis," the mouse guessed as he continued to look at Max.

"Yes," Max answered as he stared at the mouse in shock. "How did you know?"

"I have seen you before in my dreams," the mouse told him as his expression became serious. "My name is King Mickey," Mickey introduced himself. "Like Sora, Kairi and Riku I am also a Keyblade Master."

"We need your help your majesty," Kairi pleaded with the King. "The Heartless are back."

"I know," Mickey answered as he paced up and down.

"You do..." Max questioned as he raised an eyebrow.

"I have been monitoring the situation closely," Mickey told the group. "The Heartless have been dormant for three years but they suddenly started striking with avengence."

"They attacked my world," Max explained everything that happened to Mickey.

Mickey thought about this before sighing, "It would seem that the situation is worse than I first thought..." he stated solemnly as he turned his back on the group.

"What do you mean?" Riku asked the King. "I thought we defeated the Heartless..."

"As long as there is darkness in people's hearts you can never truly defeat the Heartless," Mickey corrected Riku as he turned back round to face the group. "But from what you told me and from what I had seen in my dreams the Heartless appear to be travelling further than they have done before...this could spell disaster for the whole universe."

"Gosh...do ya suppose Maleficent is responsible for this?" Goofy questioned as he looked at the group.

"We didn't defeat her last time," Sora added as he thought about this. "And she was in control of the Heartless...maybe she's decided that three years is enough to wait and she ordered them to attack worlds again."

"It is possible that Maleficent is behind this," Mickey thought about their theory. "But given the increase in Nobody activity as well it's possible that she's not alone in this."

"You mean..." Donald started to say as he gave the group a nervous look.

"Yes I do," Mickey answered causing Donald to faint. "If they are back as well then it will be much harder...there's only one person that I know of that knows about Nobodies and he lives in Twilight Town. He could give you more information."

"That's a good idea," Sora agreed with Mickey. "If anyone should know about the Nobodies it's Axel, besides we haven't seen him in a while."

"I'm sorry to have to call upon you all again but the Heartless and Nobodies are attacking other worlds and if they get to the heart of each world..." Mickey didn't have to finish as everyone knew what it meant. "Donald, Goofy, I'd like you both to accompany them."

"Yes sir!" They both yelled in unison as they both saluted.

"Max, Leon and the others told me that you're quite the skilled swordsman," Mickey told Max.

"I'm not that skilled..." Max replied modestly.

"You were able to escape from your own world unscathed," Mickey reminded him. "That is quite a feat, with your sword and magic skills you will be able to help save the worlds and revive your world as well."

"I'll do my best," Max promised Mickey as the two royals bowed to each other.

"You must all travel to Twilight Town first to find Axel," Mickey told the group. "You'll need all the help you can get. Then travel to the different worlds and stop the Heartless and Nobodies."

"Aren't you coming with us your majesty?" Kairi asked the King.

"I have to go to Radiant Garden and look at Ansem's old notes," Mickey told the group. "Maybe there's something in there about what to do in this kind of situation. Now we must make haste," Mickey told the group as they all walked out of the throne room.

The group walked through the castle and returned to the hangar, Chip and Dale saluted as Mickey got into a separate Gummi Ship and took off. The group walked to their Gummi Ship and were surprised that it now looked as good as new. "Wow...they are good engineers." Max commented impressed at the chipmunks' handy work.

"Of course we are," Chip stated as he leapt on to Max's shoulder. "We re-fuelled and repaired the ship and we added new co-ordinates to the ship's onboard computer."

"Thanks," Max replied gratefully as Chip leapt off his shoulder. The group entered the Gummi Ship and entered the bridge, Donald sat in the pilot seat. "What the hell are you doing?!" Max demanded as he glared at Donald.

"It's my turn to pilot the ship," Donald told Max.

"But we already agreed that I'm the pilot," Max informed Donald.

"I don't remember that," Donald stated.

"That's because you weren't with us now shift or I'll roast you..." Max threatened as he bared his teeth at Donald.

"You wouldn't dare..." Donald called Max's bluff, Max smirked at him before he threw a fireball at Donald causing the duck to leap out of the chair and run up and down on fire.

"I'M ON FIRE! I'M ON FIRE!" Donald yelled over and over again as he ran up and down the bridge. Max sat down on the pilot seat calmly and watched with amusement as Donald continued to run up and down.

"Shouldn't ya help him?" Goofy questioned as he looked at Max.

Max sighed before he casually cast a water spell as Donald ran passed him drenching the duck and putting the fire out. Donald breathed heavily his feathers were badly charred, "you did that on purpose!" Donald yelled as he scowled at Max.

"I told you I'd roast you if you didn't get out of my seat," Max told Donald as the duck continued to scowl at him. Max sighed, "Here, put this on your feathers it should instantly remove the burns," Max stated as he gave Donald a potion. Donald took the potion and poured it on his feathers making them sparkly white again. Donald thanked Max before he sat in a chair next to Goofy, everyone strapped in as Max flipped the switches. "Ok, first stop Twilight Town," Max told the group as he pushed a button and the ground opened up below them and the Gummi Ship fell through the floor.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Everyone screamed at the same time as the ship fell out of the bottom of the world and Max pushed the ignite buttons and the thrusters ignited.

"I'll never get used to that..." Max uttered with a sigh, "I hope the other worlds aren't like that."

"Don't worry they're not," Kairi reassured Max.

"Good," Max replied as he typed in the co-ordinates for Twilight Town and the Gummi Ship set off. _"I wonder if we'll find Pandora there..."_ He thought hopefully to himself. _"I hope so..."_

* * *

Meanwhile in the large Nobody castle in the World That Never was a tall thin green skinned woman wearing black robes was stood at a crystal ball talking to an obscured image inside the crystal ball. _"Is everything going to plan?" _A female voice echoed out of the crystal ball.

"Yes," the green skinned woman answered. "The Heartless have attacked the Kitsune World just as you ordered."

"_Good,"_ the female voice replied in a satisfied tone. _"I shall turn the Kitsune Palace into my new castle. You did a good job Maleficent. That troublesome Kitsune and his friends won't stop my plans this time."_

"There was a slight complication," Maleficent told the female voice.

"_What kind of complication?" _The female voice demanded.

"The Kitsune and his wife escaped the Kitsune World before it was turned into darkness." Maleficent explained the situation as images of Max and Pandora flashed in the crystal ball.

The female voice growled angrily at this news, _"how is that possible?"_

"It appears that they have very strong hearts," Maleficent stated. "However they have been separated."

The female voice thought about this before a door opened and a dark skinned man with long silver hair and yellow eyes wearing a black hooded trench coat entered the room. _"You're late Xemnas..."_ The female voice stated as Xemnas walked over to Maleficent.

"I apologise," Xemnas apologised to the woman in the crystal ball.

"_I hate lateness Xemnas,"_ The female voice told Xemnas. _"I didn't revive you and the rest of Organisation XIII for you to be late to meetings."_

"Before they were killed by the traitor the Dusk Nobodies informed me that a bat like woman called Pandora was in Twilight Town." Xemnas informed his new master.

"_Do whatever it takes to keep her away from Max," _the female voice ordered. _"She mustn't reunite with Max, they're both stronger when they fight together."_

"There's one more thing," Maleficent told her new master.

"_What is it?" _The female voice asked.

"Max has teamed up with Sora and his friends," Maleficent informed the woman in the crystal ball.

"_Send the Heartless and Nobodies to as many worlds as possible," _the female voice ordered as she looked at her two subordinates. _"Stop them from reviving Max's world, turn him into a Heartless if you can."_

"It shall be done," Maleficent and Xemnas stated in unison before the woman disappeared from the crystal ball.

"It's hard to believe that we were once enemies," Xemnas remarked as he smiled at Maleficent.

"Well we learned the hard way that working alone hasn't worked," Maleficent told Xemnas. "But if we work together we can finally stop Sora and his friends."

"But what has the master got against this Max?" Xemnas questioned.

"She has her reasons," Maleficent answered vaguely. "I don't know what those reasons are, she didn't tell me, but he is with Sora and his friends so we must stop him at any cost."

Xemnas was about to respond but the door flew open and two men wearing trench coats entered the room dragging a third person. One of the men was tall and well built and had light brown slicked back hair, the other man was slightly smaller and had long blue hair and an x shaped scar on his face. The person they were dragging into the room was smaller than the two men and was dressed in black, their hands were tied behind their back and a bag was placed roughly over their head. "Saix, Lexaeus! This had better be important!" Xemnas snapped at the two Organisation members.

"Forgive us Xemnas," Saix apologised. "But we finally caught the new comer after he tried to escape." He pushed the younger boy towards Xemnas with such a force that he fell to his knees.

The boy let out muffled yells as he struggled against his bonds, Xemnas removed the bag to reveal a young blue furred Kitsune with green eyes and light blue hair. His four tails were limp behind him. "Raynx, Raynx, Raynx..." Xemnas repeated the boy's name as he shook his head. "You've been quite the trouble maker haven't you?"

Raynx spat in Xemnas' face, "screw you!" Raynx yelled as he continued to struggle. Lexaeus hit Raynx in the back of the head stunning him.

"He has quite the potty mouth on him," Maleficent remarked as she looked at the boy.

"He's the first Hume Nobody," Xemnas informed Maleficent. "He has a strong spirit and requires a lot of work...this isn't the first time he's escaped but it will be the last."

"You can't keep me here against my will!" Raynx yelled at Xemnas as he continued to struggle.

Xemnas laughed at this, he grabbed the boy's shirt and dragged him to his feet. "You are a Nobody and it's time you started acting like one...why were you in Twilight Town?"

Raynx spat at Xemnas again, "I'm not gonna tell you!"

"You weren't ordered to go there," Xemnas told the boy as he dropped him. "It would seem that we need to keep an even tighter control over you...Yes...I need to use the mind seer technique."

Raynx's eyes grew wide with fear, "n...no...anything but that!" He yelled in panic, "not again...please..." Raynx tried to back away in fear but Saix and Lexaeus grabbed him and held him down as Xemnas walked over to him.

"You will obey us and you won't pull any more of your stunts," Xemnas ordered as his eyes glowed with magic. Raynx closed his eyes but Lexaeus squeezed Raynx's shoulder causing his eyes to shoot open and stare straight into Xemnas' eyes. Xemnas' hand shot out and Raynx's eyes grew wide in shock as he felt Xemnas attack his mind.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"Raynx screamed as mental pain surged through him. He felt Xemnas attacking his mind, attacking his thoughts and it made his head pound. He felt Xemnas put a mental seal on his mind driving out any rebellious thoughts, after what seemed like forever Xemnas pulled out of Raynx's head and Raynx fell to the floor exhausted.

"Now, have you learned your lesson?" Xemnas asked the boy.

"Yes..." Raynx answered blankly.

"Yes what..." Xemnas questioned.

"Yes master..." Raynx replied still in that blank voice.

"Untie him," Xemnas ordered as Saix knelt down and untied Raynx and dragged him to his feet. Raynx shook unsteady on his feet but he managed to balance himself slightly as he rubbed his hands. "Take young Raynx to his quarters until he is needed," Xemnas commanded as Saix and Lexaeus grabbed Raynx. "And make sure he's wearing the correct uniform," Xemnas added as Saix and Lexaeus dragged Raynx through the white halls of the castle and to a small pure white room.

They threw Raynx on to the bed, Saix threw a black trench coat at Raynx. "Put that on," Saix ordered as he scowled at Raynx. Raynx stared at Saix, "NOW!" Saix yelled causing the young Kitsune to remove his normal clothes and put on the Organisation uniform and the trench coat. "That's better, you look like one of us now...enjoy your room because you'll be in here for a while." Saix and Lexaeus laughed as they walked out of the room and locked the door behind them.

Raynx ran at the door and banged his fists on it, "LET ME OUT!" Raynx screamed as he continued to bang on the door. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Raynx yelled as a fresh wave of pain surged through his mind. _"What have they done to me..." _Raynx thought sadly to himself as he slumped to the floor with his back against the door. He looked down at the trench coat he was wearing and sighed sadly. _"I was happy being a wandering Nobody...they kidnapped me a year ago...it doesn't matter how many times I escape they always recapture me..." _He sighed again, _"Now if I so much as think of rebelling I feel a sharp pain in my head...he used a mental seal on me...I'm in so much trouble..."_ Raynx brought his knees to his face and he rested his head on his knees as he felt tears stream down his face.

* * *

**Chapter 2 is complete, sorry it took so long but my computer is down at the moment so I'm using other computers which I don't have access to every day. Chapter 3 will be up as soon as I have typed it. Kingdom Hearts and all its characters and locations don't belong to me, they belong to Square Enix and Disney. Original characters do belong to me so please ask for permission if you'd like to use them.**


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